It’s been a big couple of days for your dedicated crew of reporters here at Final Reading. Since Friday, my colleague Shaun Robinson and I witnessed two once-in-a-lifetime phenomena: on Monday, a total solar eclipse, and on Friday, Gov. Phil Scott’s theatrical debut.
According to the Burlington Free Press, Scott agreed to make a cameo at Mt. Mansfield Union High School’s Friday night production of “Little Shop of Horrors” after students peer-pressured him to join them on stage in a series of videos sent to the governor’s office.
It was only supposed to be a one-line bit part. The poor gov would take a seat in the maniacal Dr. Orin Scrivello’s dental chair and face the wrath of his rusty tooth extractor. But according to an inside source of mine whose name rhymes with Shmason Shmaulucci, Gov. Bashful came into work Friday morning having penned two pages (!) of new dialogue for himself, hoping the kids would be open to workshopping it on that day (!!!).
Professionals that they are, the kids did. High school junior Brady Gouse, who played Dr. Scrivello, told VTDigger after the performance that the cast only had one rehearsal with the governor, right before the show. “I could hear people in the house while we were practicing,” the 17-year-old said.
Come 7:30 p.m. Friday, the curtains parted and the high school auditorium was nearly full of spectators. Shaun and I, supporters of up-and-coming artists that we are, were among the audience members.
When it came to his scene, it was clear when Actor-Playwright-Governor Scott’s own script began. “How much is this gonna cost?” the governor asked the evil dentist. Balking at the sticker price, he asked, “What if we just skip the novocaine?”
Skip the novocaine they did, and after some relatively convincing pantomimes of agony from the gov and quite a bit of manhandling from the dentist, Dr. Scrivello yanked out his tooth. “That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” the dentist asked the gov.
“No worse than my press conferences,” the governor responded. (Okay, rude.)
It was then that Dr. Scrivello handed the governor his bill and — surprise! — it wasn’t what he initially quoted. “That was before taxes,” Dr. Scrivello informed the incredulous governor.
“Wait a minute, you know I don’t like taxes,” the governor exclaimed, pointing to an itemized pain tax on the bill. “They’re taxing pain and suffering? This is ridiculous.”
After the show, Shaun and I landed the interview with Gouse and asked him about sharing the stage with Vermont’s man-in-charge. He had some notes.
“I didn’t expect him to be as soft-spoken as he was, so it was a big change of pace,” Gouse said. “Our director always tells us, ‘Be loud. Project a lot.’”
Constructive criticism aside, Gouse came away with a memento to commemorate the show.
“Now I have a signed copy of a handwritten script by Phil Scott,” he said.
— Sarah Mearhoff
In the know
The Vermont House committee investigating whether Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore should be impeached has formally dropped its inquiry.
The panel unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday morning that calls on Grismore to resign. However, it stops short of recommending that the full House move forward with further proceedings that could lead to him being removed from office.
“While this legislative body does not find articles of impeachment to be appropriate at this time, this legislative body urges Mr. Grismore to resign from the Office of Franklin County Sheriff for the good of the people of Franklin County,” the resolution reads.
— Shaun Robinson
Last year, the state set aside more than $9 million for a new inpatient psychiatric unit for youth at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington.
The expenditure is a sign of rising concern about the mental health of Vermont’s young people, and the shortage of resources to address it. With few other places to go, youth in mental health crises often end up in hospital emergency departments, where they sometimes stay for days.
But as the hospital moves towards standing up the facility, which would serve youth aged 12 to 17, other organizations are raising questions about whether it is truly needed — and whether the state’s money might be better spent elsewhere.
— Peter D’Auria
Vermont’s longest-serving state senator resigned Monday.
Sen. Dick Mazza, a Democrat from Colchester, had represented the Grand Isle Senate district for close to four decades, making him the second-longest serving senator in Vermont history. He was considered one of its most influential members, chairing the Senate Transportation Committee and serving on the Senate’s powerful Committee on Committees.
In a letter to Scott, Mazza wrote that, “with great sadness,” he had decided to step down, effective Monday.
“Due to health reasons, I am unable to provide the quality of service and dedication I have always given to my constituents and the State of Vermont,” Mazza wrote. “Having dedicated representation has always been one of my top priorities and I believe the people I serve deserve someone who can provide their full attention to this critical position.”
— Ethan Weinstein and Paul Heintz
Visit our 2024 Bill tracker for the latest updates on major legislation we are following.
And the winners are
Just like that, it’s April — and with it, the end to another year of March Madness pools under the Golden Dome. On Tuesday, basketballer-in-chief Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Chittenden, convened dozens of Statehouse rats to announce who among us had the best — and the worst — NCAA tournament brackets of 2024.
Taking home the top prize in the pool for the men’s NCAA tournament was Matt Cota, a lobbyist who represents fuel dealers. First place in the women’s tournament pool, meanwhile, went to Adam Wood, a software developer in the Office of Legislative Information Technology.
I won’t name this year’s losers, because frankly, I’m still in a great mood after watching yesterday’s little celestial event. But I will note one other award — Rookie of the Year, which went to fellow Statehouse reporter Stephen Biddix, of NBC5. Harrison noted that Biddix, who finished in a very commendable 7th in the men’s pool, far eclipsed (🌚) other members of this year’s press corps bracket team, who “were just not helping you much at all.”
Harrison isn’t wrong. I finished 37th in the men’s pool, while my dear colleague Sarah finished 97th (despite, to be sure, a very strong start). Well — there’s always next year!
— Shaun Robinson
What we’re reading
As visitors depart and traffic wanes, Vermont begins to tally eclipse’s impact, VTDigger
All of VTDigger’s reporting on Vermont’s eclipse day, VTDigger
Facing ‘financial insolvency’, Goddard College to close after 86 years, VTDigger
